Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on monitoring mpact of the COVID-19 pandemic on monitoring people living with HIV in Dakar, Senegal eople living with HIV in Dakar, Senegal.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a considerable impact on chronic disease monitoring. Previous work has asserted that people living with HIV (PLHIV) are at risk of developing COVID-19 and have difficulty accessing care and antiretroviral (ARV) treatment. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of HIV/COVID-19 coinfection and vaccination and to assess the impact of the pandemic on the follow-up of PLHIV and on their psychosocial and economic lives. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional, multicenter study conducted from August 16, 2021, to October 10, 2021, at two dermatology departments of Dakar. We included all PLHIV followed at these two services during the study period. Results: We identified 57 cases of PLHIV. The hospital frequency was 6.44%, the mean age was 46, and the sex ratio was 0.54. The prevalence of COVID-19 infection was 14.1%. All cases had a mild clinical form of COVID-19, outpatient management, complete remission, and no deaths were noted during the follow-up. Viral load was available and undetectable in 25%. All patients co-infected with HIV/COVID-19 were on antiretroviral therapy. The prevalence of PLHIV vaccinated against COVID-19 was 31.6%. During the COVID-19 pandemic, 28.1% of cases missed their appointments. 96.5% of cases accessed to ARV treatment. However, 3.5% of PLHIV stopped their ARV treatment for reasons unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic. Opportunistic infections were present in 31.6% of cases, with a significant impact on psychological (64.9%), social (45.6%), and economic (71.9%) well-being, as well as on quality of life in 59.6% of cases. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic and its health measures have had a major impact on the follow-up and quality of life of people living with HIV. The reinforcement of therapeutic education, barrier measures, and COVID-19 vaccination seem to contribute to improving the quality of life of PLHIV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]